The present invention relates generally to digital imaging devices, including digital cameras, and more particularly to a method and system for controlling user interaction in a digital imaging device using dynamic overlay bars.
Most digital cameras today are similar in size to and behave like conventional point-and-shoot cameras. Unlike conventional cameras, however, most digital cameras store digital images in an internal flash memory or on external memory cards, and some are equipped with a liquid-crystal display (LCD) screen on the back of the camera. Through the use of the LCD, most digital cameras operate in two modes, record and play, although some only have a record mode.
In record mode, which is also referred to as capture mode, the LCD acts as a live viewfinder in which the user may view an object or scene before taking a picture, similar to the LCD on a camcorder. When the user presses the shutter button, whatever scene is shown on the LCD is captured as a still image. Besides capturing still images, some digital cameras can be set to capture other image types, such as burst and time-lapse images. A burst image is a series of still images captured in rapid succession, while a time-lapse image is series of still images taken at regular intervals over a longer time period.
In play mode, the LCD acts as a playback screen for reviewing the previously captured images. Typically, several small images are displayed on the LCD at once, and by selecting one of the images the user may then display the full-sized version of the images in the LCD.
Although conventional digital cameras are more convenient for the user to use than film cameras due to instant play back of captured images, there are several drawbacks in the user interface that restrict user interaction with the camera. When capturing images, for example, it is often helpful for the user to be informed about the current settings or operational state of the camera, such as whether the flash is on/off, and the current image type setting, for instance.
In conventional digital cameras, such status information is typically displayed as text blocks or accessed through a status screen or the like. The disadvantage with the text blocks is that they are typically small (10-15 characters in length), and therefore, the amount of status information they can provide is very limited. Typically, text blocks are used to display information such as the current image number. Moreover, when text blocks are displayed with a solid color background, the background obscures that portion of the image. And when text blocks are displayed with no background (only text), the text is difficult to distinguish from the colors comprising the image, making the text hard to read.
The disadvantage with status screens is that in order to view the status information, the image currently displayed on the LCD must be replaced with the status screen, causing the user to loose sight of the image. Another approach would be to shrink the display area of the LCD and add a black status area in the viewfinder, as done in optical viewfinders of film cameras. This, however, would shrink the size of images displayed in the viewfinder.
Another drawback with conventional digital cameras is that as technological advances are made, digital cameras are continually provided with more features and functions, which make them more complex for the user to interact with. This is similar to what occurs with PC software, which increasingly grows larger and harder to use. PC developers attempt to alleviate this problem by providing more and larger help menus. Each help menu usually opens in its own window with paragraphs of scrolling text.
Using PC help menus in a digital camera to guide user interaction through the camera features and functions would be less than ideal because of the limited size of the camera LCD. And assuming help menus were displayed, they would either obscure whatever image was being displayed or otherwise total replace it, which is disadvantageous to the picture taker.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved system and method for displaying status information in a manner that does not obscure the display of the current object in the LCD, and for controlling user interaction in a digital imaging device. The present invention addresses such a need.
The present invention provides a method and system for controlling user interaction in a digital imaging device having a display using dynamic overlay bars. The digital imaging device includes at least two operating modes, where each of the operating modes has at least one mode-specific operation that can be performed on images. In response to operating in either of the operating modes, the digital imaging device displays a translucent overlay bar on the display that is dynamically updated with status information and interactive instructions that guide the user through the mode-specific operations.
In a second aspect of the present invention, the interactive instructions are implemented using a script, which is a text-based program that may be easily written by the user and externally loaded into the camera. Once loaded into the camera, the commands comprising the script are translated and executed one-by-one by a script interpreter to guide the user through the newly provided function.
A third aspect of the present invention, provides a method and system for displaying overlay bars on the display. First, text and graphic information to be displayed on the overlay bars are stored in an overlay bar buffer, and then displayed on the display. Thereafter, the current image is displayed on the display line-by-line. The lines of the image that will be displayed within the area of an overlay bar are stored in a backstore buffer. Each line in the backstore buffer is merged with its corresponding lines in the overlay bar buffer and displayed. This aspect of the present invention makes the overlay bars appear translucent, and the image appear as though it is sliding beneath the overlay bars as it is being displayed. When the user turns-off the overlay bars, only the portions of the image stored in the backstore buffer need be re-displayed to provide the original image, thus eliminating the need to re-display the entire image.
Accordingly, the method and system of the present invention provides status information to a user and allows the user to perform complex camera functions and features to the images with minimum effort, while allowing for easy viewing of the images. Displaying interactive instructions on dynamic overlay bars to guide the user through complex tasks in accordance with the present invention eliminates the need for help screens and for the user to remember complicated key sequences, and increases the ease of use and operation of the digital camera. The manner in which the overlay bars and the image is displayed makes the user interface more aesthetically pleasing, while increasing the display speed of the digital imaging device.